Second Chances
by sunokofairytale
Summary: After Zorc is destroyed, and Bakura with him, the Thief King wakes up to find himself...not in the shadow realm? He is given another go at life, if, and only if, he can make Ryou happy again. After all, everyone deserves a second chance!TO BE EDITED/CONT!
1. The Voice

_**Author's Notes: Hello all, and welcome to my new story, Second Chances. Heh, heh...the plot bunnies attacked me this morning with this new idea. Enjoy! :)**_

_Chapter One: The Voice_

Bakura opened his eyes to a bright light, surrounding him in a magnificent glow. There was not a trace of darkness anywhere, not a shadow to be seen.

It was a bit too bright; it burned at Bakura's eyes, causing him to squint as he looked around.

"Where am I?" the spirit wondered aloud.

"Location should not concern you, as long as you are not residing in the shadow realm, I think," a deep, mysterious, but pleasant-sounding voice answered back.

Bakura jumped up, surprised, and grimaced. Oh joy, it seems like he had company.

"Who are you?" Bakura called out coldly, looking around. He was rather unnerved when he saw no one, though he was determined not to show his discomfort through his actions, fighting to maintain his stoic expression.

The voice did not respond to this particular question.

Fine. Bakura had not really expected it answer him, anyways.

After a few minutes full of uneasy silence, Bakura decided to re-phrase his question. "Why am I here?"

"I have decided to give you, Thief King, another chance at life," the voice replied quickly. He thought he detected a hint of amusement in the strange tone.

"Why?" Bakura asked, stunned. "I should be in the shadow realm, shouldn't I?" he said sourly, "after all, the _great_ pharaoh defeated me, didn't he?" he retorted, bitter from his loss. All of the plotting he had done, worthless. The _mighty_ Atemu had still walked away from their fight for power, unscathed...

"Because," the voice explained, so sweet sounding it caused Bakura to feel rather ill, "after reviewing your case, I have decided that you did have some righteous reasoning behind your vicious actions."

"_Some_ righteous reason!" called Bakura, outraged, and sounding quite insane at the same time, "Aknamkanon, the pharaoh's father, had Kul Elna destroyed, sacrificed all its inhabitants for the creation of Millennium Items, and leaving me, a mere boy, as the-"

"-the only living survivor, yes, as I have told you, I am aware of your story, Thief King," called the voice.

Bakura shook with anger...no one dare cut the Thief King off when he was talking! "And yet," said Bakura, with a deathly forced calm voice, "I only have some righteous reason for my revenge?"

"I am not denying that you shouldn't be angry," answered the voice that he oh-so-disliked now, "but you have been directing your anger at the wrong people-yes, the pharaoh's father did give consent for the making of the Items, but he was unaware of your home's slaughter...as was Atemu, the young one you have been giving such a hard time. Your anger should have been directed at Aknadin, the father's brother..." called the voice once more.

The voice sounded a little sad...did it pity him? He didn't need, nor want, any sympathy.

"Impossible," Bakura snorted, disbelieving, "the pharaoh ordered that attack on Kul Elna!"

"Silence!" the voice commanded, sounding angry and intimidating. Bakura shivered involuntarily. He tried to yell back, but could not seem to find the right words to use.

"I can see that you will not be reasoned with on the matter..."

Bakura felt the sudden urge to stab something...or some_one_...if only the voice belonged to a body...

"...You said something about giving me another shot at life?" Bakura reminded the voice after a minute's stillness.

"Yes, if you are willing to accept it after I give you the conditions, my dear Thief King."

"Conditions?" Bakura repeated dully, rather unhappy. He followed his own rules, just like any other thief. Besides, what kind of ridiculous demands would he be subject to?

"First of all, you will not be allowed to exact your revenge on the pharaoh or anyone else. There will be absolutely no murdering of anyone."

Bakura's jaw dropped and he crossed his arms. He looked remarkably like a child who had just had his favorite toys taken away for bad behavior.

"But...!" he began to state, but was cut off again by an annoyed sigh.

"Do you accept or not? You can always be sent to the shadow realm instead, if you decide against it..."

Bakura scoffed. "I'm sure I would escape."

"Are you really?" the voice replied, sounding irritated.

Bakura glanced around hatefully for a few seconds. Finally, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. "Fine," he whispered, giving in.

"I can't hear you, little Thief King..." the voice called, laughing.

"I said FINE!"

"Very good. You must also try not to steal or lie."

Bakura snapped up and he smirked. "Why only order me to _try_, oh great Voice?"

"Expecting you to completely quit would be foolish of me. At least, this way, I can hope that you will do the right thing and make some good choices."

Bakura's smirk became even smugger. "That's very...wise...of you."

"Yes, well, are you ready to hear the task you must complete in order to maintain your new life?"

Bakura blinked in shock, smug smirk disappearing quickly from his face. "What, dare I ask, must I accomplish?"

The voice became stern, sounding more powerful than ever before. "You must make the one named Ryou happy again."

"Ryou?" Bakura called, eyes wide, incredulous, "Why must I make my former host _happy_?" The only person the Thief King pleased was himself!

"Because, Bakura, you have wronged this boy much more so than you have anyone else! You have taken his own body from him, suppressing him completely mentally, without even a spare thought to how it has affected him!"

There was a intake of breathe, and then the voice continued-

"This is what I meant about having _some_ righteous anger behind you wicked ways! This child had done nothing against you, yet look at all the harm _you_ have caused _him_!" the voice yelled, clearly frustrated.

For once, in over three thousand years, Bakura felt slightly ashamed of himself, if only for a moment.

"I suppose I could look into it..." Bakura said weakly, shocked that he had actually felt _guilty_...

"I suppose you will, Thief King," called the voice coldly. "You'll know if you don't..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The voice did something unexpected-it chuckled.

"Care to inform me about what do you find so amusing?"

"Only the fact that you, Thief King, are beginning to act a little like a human being again...though I suppose it is because Zorc's influence has been completely removed from your will...," the voice mused.

"What?"

"Oh, yes, Zorc was sent to the shadows, unlike you...in other words, your soul is completely your own again, you're just the Thief King..."

With that said, the voice began to sound fainter and fainter until it was entirely faded...

Just as Bakura was about to lose consciousness, he thought he heard the mere hint of a whisper. "Don't forget the conditions...and be sure to enjoy your life this time..."

_**Author's Notes: Well, I hope you liked it. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, as would all reviews! Will be updated soon! Sorry if it was a little confusing...Yu-Gi-Oh! wikia was my best buddy while writing this...*sweatdrop*... Remember, this is a BXR fic!**_


	2. Rescue

_**Author's Notes: Here's the second chapter of Second Chances! *laughs* **_

_Chapter Two: Rescue_

Bakura's eyes fluttered open to the unknown once more. It dark outside...it must be nighttime and, judging by the warmth of the air, it was also summer.

Looking around, Bakura saw that he was in an empty alleyway...or so he had thought.

Walking forward, the Thief King noticed two men, rugged and giving a 'tough' impression, leaned over another person, who was on the ground. They continued to stare down at the other being as Bakura approached them; they had not noticed his arrival.

Bakura could not exactly see who it was out on the grimy pavement of the alleyway, because the other two were blocking his view of the sight.

Nevertheless, Bakura could hear him.

"I've already told you, I don't have any money!" a familiar voice cried out.

Bakura's eyes widened shocked for a second. He knew that voice. It was the soft voice of Ryou...and by the looks of it, he was being robbed by some common low-class street thugs.

Bakura smirked. This was perfect...all he needed to do was save puny little Ryou from the bullies, Ryou would be happy, and Bakura would be free once more to go about his business. For once, his luck didn't seem so bad.

That was when one of the dirty haired punks kicked Ryou in the stomach, causing him to whimper with pain. "We said _where is your money_?"

_I'm going to hurt them for that _was the only thought that flashed across Bakura's mind. Eyes narrowed and fist curled, he began to charge at Ryou's offender...

...only to come to an abrupt halt mid-way when he noticed a flash of silver; the man had pulled out a knife and shoved it in front of Ryou's face so that the boy would see it.

"I guess we'll have to make you talk..." the man leered at Ryou, holding the dagger to the youth's throat.

_No!_

Bakura lunged at the robber, knocking him in the head, and the man crumpled to the ground, his weapon clanging as it hit the concrete.

As Bakura straightened back up, he caught Ryou's eyes. Ryou gasped, and, as the boy opened his mouth to say something, Bakura felt a prick of pain on his right cheek.

Touching his face and looking at his fingers in the dim streetlamp light, Bakura saw bright red blood.

Glancing around he saw why... the knocked out thief's companion had drawn out his own knife from a hidden pocket, and had cut Bakura while he was distracted. He was now fixing Bakura with a sadistic smile.

However, Bakura did not find this amusing.

In a burst of lightning-fast speed, he grabbed the punk's knife in one hand and had the man pinned against a nearby dumpster with the other.

A powerful rage had overcome the Thief King. He wasn't quite sure of the reason behind it...

Toying with the knife in his clutches, holding the thief's wrist with only one of his hands, Bakura whispered in his ear, "If I ever see you lay one filthy _finger _on this boy again, I might just have to pay you a visit...and it won't be very pleasant."

Bakura slammed the knife into the dumpster for emphasis, so that blade went through the green metal that it was made out of.

The man, in the Thief King's very limited mercy, gulped, shaking.

"So," Bakura continued, "do we have an understanding?"

"Y-yes..." came the stuttered reply.

"Excellent." Bakura said calmly, as if it were simply a business deal, and released the idiot.

Bakura stared maliciously at him while the fool picked up his thug friend and both of the crooks fled into the night...

Ryou groaned as he tried to pick himself up.

Bakura offered the boy his hand, but Ryou refused. He seemed unwilling to even touch Bakura.

A downpour of shame consumed Bakura. Had he really treated Ryou so poorly that Ryou was afraid of him?

"Nonsense, Ryou..." Bakura grumbled, trying to help boy anyways.

Ryou squeaked and flailed away, only to moan and grab his side. "Don't!" he yelled.

Bakura tried not to let the hurt show in his face as Ryou pulled himself up. Naturally, the Thief King's expression successfully contained no emotion as Ryou, now standing, glared at him.

Then Ryou did the most unexpected thing-or at any rate, Bakura thought so, anyways.

Ryou brought back a bawled-up fist and punched Bakura on the side of the head with all of his remaining strength.

Bakura was so surprised that sweet little Ryou, the boy, who, in Bakura's opinion, didn't have a backbone, had actually punched him that he did not react.

Black specks dotted his vision and great Thief King blacked out.

_Why, Ryou?_

**YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH **

Bakura woke up on a plushy couch, a sheet covering him, feeling terrible with a sickening headache.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Ryou, a bloody rag in hand, leaning over him.

Bakura felt fury and annoyance swell within him. "You knocked me out!" he accused, pointing a finger at the culprit Ryou.

Ryou grimaced. "How's the head?"

"Horrible, courtesy of you!" Bakura snarled back.

Ryou glared at him and opened his frowning mouth to speak. "Y-you are Bakura, aren't you?" he questioned hesitantly.

Bakura stared at him blankly. "Why wouldn't I be?" he snapped.

Ryou looked down, but then brought his head back up to meet Bakura's stare with a fire burning in his eyes, as if he was determined not to be put down.

"Don't talk to me that way, Bakura," Ryou said, flicking Bakura on the forehead with his index finger. He looked somewhat angry.

Bakura, on the other hand, was bemused. Ryou seemed to have sprouted a spine in the Thief King's absence.

Ryou cleared his throat and explained. "You look...different."

Bakura shot him a 'duh' look. "Of course, Ryou, I have my own body now." _Though it came with a cost, _thought Bakura, thinking of the _conditions _he was required to fulfill.

Ryou shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant...before you looked like a twisted version of...me...but now you look...different."

Bakura was puzzled. What exactly did Ryou mean?

"Wait here," said Ryou, "I'll be right back..."

The teen stood up and went down the hallway. Bakura heard the banging of drawers opening and closing.

Bakura took this time to take in the place around him. It looked like a small apartment...had Ryou dragged him here by himself while he was unconscious?

A few seconds later, Ryou had returned, clutching something shiny in his hand. It took a few moments for Bakura to realize the object Ryou was handing to him was a mirror.

Cautiously, he peered into the mirror to gaze at his own reflection.

Bakura immediately understood what Ryou meant. His skin was a bronzed color, his spiky hair was a darker white, and below one of his eyes laid a criss-crossed scar. Under his other eye, however, there was a fresh cut, the one that the bandit had inflicted earlier. Ryou had cleaned it fairly well.

He agreed with Ryou. This body was definitely not the like the one he had while possessing Ryou. This was his body- his original body...the body of the Thief King. Or, at least, a very good imitation of it.

Bakura gaped, stunned.

Then, recovering his composure, he brought a hand up to his face to trace the new wound on his right cheek, which was sure to leave another scar. "Well, at least I match now..." he mumbled.

Ryou had been watching him with careful eyes.

"What are you staring at, Ryou?" barked Bakura. He wasn't sure if he liked the way Ryou was looking at him...

Ryou looked away, saying "Nothing," a little too fast, blinking rapidly.

Hmmm... Bakura would have to keep an eye on him. He hoped Ryou wasn't planning to hit him again...

Ryou busied himself by playing with his hands.

"So...this is what you really look like?" the boy asked when he looked back at Bakura again.

Bakura nodded, watching him. "Why do you ask, Ryou, is there something wrong with the way I look?"

Bakura went pale. "No! No, I mean, you certainly don't look bad..." his voice trailed off.

O..kay. This was getting a bit too awkward for Bakura to tolerate. And Ryou looked upset again. Only this time he appeared to be more on the sad side, instead of mad.

Pfft. So much for making Ryou _happy_.

A sudden thought occurred to Bakura. "Err, Ryou?" he asked, trying to sound nice to cheer Ryou up again.

Ryou appeared to be startled at the sudden change in tone. "Yeah?"

"...Won't your father think it is a little weird to find me on your couch?"

Ryou's face fell. _Way to go_, Bakura mentally chastised himself. He was _never_ going to make Ryou happy, and he was _never_ going to be free to do what he wanted...

"I-I moved out a month ago," Ryou admitted.

Bakura raised his eyebrows, rather impressed.

Then Ryou's face hardened and he glared at Bakura. "And _you_ are going to get out _my_ apartment as soon as you're better," Ryou informed him in a livid tone.

_Heh, you don't know how badly I wish I could ditch you_, Bakura thought.

The Thief King rolled his eyes and spoke. "Geez, Ryou, you really aren't happy to see me, are you?"

"No, I am bloody not!" screamed Ryou. "I'm tired of you controlling me!"

Bakura winced; he had not expected such a loud outburst from docile, timid Ryou.

Ryou turned his back on Bakura and the Thief King saw the boy's shoulders shaking as sobs rocked the teen's body.

Another wave of painful guilt collided with Bakura.

"Ryou?"

"Y-yes?"

"Would...err...an apology make you happy?" Bakura could have face palmed, the words sounded so stupid to his ears.

Ryou gave a gasp and wheeled around to face Bakura, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

Slowly, Ryou nodded.

Bakura sighed. "I am...sorry...Ryou. I shouldn't have treated you...the way...I did," finished Bakura weakly, staring at his hands and then at Ryou.

Ryou looked...well...flat out shocked.

Then, as the words sunk in, he presented Bakura with a small smile.

Bakura's stomach lurched. _What the...?_

Swiftly, Ryou darted into another room, coming back with a pillow, which he threw at Bakura.

"What's this for?"

"For you to sleep on. You can have the couch. I'll sleep in my room...good night." Ryou said, flashing Bakura another small smile, before walking down the hallway again, shutting a door behind him with a small click.

Bakura felt strangely dazed as he drifted off asleep, with the pillow Ryou had loaned him tucked snugly behind his head, the corners of his mouth pulled up just the tiniest bit.

_**Author's Notes: That's it for chappie 2. Took longer than I thought...XD. And remember, please REVIEW! reviews motivate faster updates! :)**_


	3. Smiles

_Chapter Three: Smiles_

Bakura was aware of a bright light shining all around him, radiating out of every crevice of nearby space.

Wait...wasn't this the same pearly glow from when...?

"Welcome, Thief King," called a voice. The Voice, as Bakura had dubbed it.

Bakura sighed in annoyance. This was exactly what he needed- another lengthy conversation with the Voice. "Well, I cannot say that I'm pleased to hear...you...again," Bakura called out.

"You haven't made Ryou happy yet, Thief King," the Voice called in what Bakura considered an unnecessary accusing tone.

"Yes," Bakura protested, "I have...I...I have made him...smile!" Bakura said, sounding triumphant. "So, having met my requirements, I can stop trying to make him happy, and do whatever I please, correct?"

"Wrong!"

"What?" Bakura hissed at the Voice, seething in anger. He was not a babysitter! He did not have time to go around attempting to please that child day after day!

The voice snorted in disbelief, oblivious to the Thief King's anger. "You honestly think a smile, one lone smile, is happiness?" the Voice asked rhetorically. It talked over him when Bakura tried to reply anyways.

"Besides, it was only a fake smile, cast only to befuddle you long enough to allow him to make it to his room, undisturbed. In other words, he only wanted time to think, alone."

The voice chuckled. "He's a clever boy, isn't he, to play on your newly re-discovered emotions like that? Looks like Ryou learned a thing or two from you, ha!"

Bakura sneered. Ryou wasn't that good an actor...

...was he?

Anger flashed through Bakura. How dare Ryou deceive him!

"And, do tell me, Thief King, was your apology sincere? Did you truly mean your words, or did you only utter them from guilt?"

Bakura looked away and mumbled something indistinct.

"What was that? Couldn't hear you, Thief King..."

Bakura raised his voice, tone icy.

"No, I suppose it wasn't...I only said so because Ryou said it would make him happy."

The voice laughed, "So, how can you be cross with Ryou for responding to your insincere apology with an insincere smile?"

The laughter rung in his ears echoing...echoing...echoing...

**YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH **

Bakura woke to the smell of something cooking.

For minutes, Bakura had forgotten all about this strange dream, but as he yawned and stretched his arms, he remembered all that voice had told him.

Ryou had fooled him, the Thief King, with a fake smile. _Two_ fake smiles, now that he thought back to the event.

Bakura was trying not to let this get to him, that Ryou, of all people, had managed to trick him. He really was.

Nonetheless, the fact of the matter was that it still troubled him tremendously. Was it this human body that caused him to be so easily deceived, so... weak? He felt a surge of self-disgust. He hated weakness. It was a quality unbecoming of a thief. Weakness was something that must never be shown, something that, if revealed, could get you killed.

It didn't help that Bakura still had to make that little fraud happy.

Bakura grumbled all the way to the kitchen, which he found by following the smell.

Ryou was standing in there, cooking on the stove, his back to Bakura. For a moment, Bakura wanted to creep up to him and scare the living daylights out of the boy, but dismissed this silly, immature thought as soon as it occurred in his head.

On the counter, there was a plate of eggs, giving off a delicious aroma.

It smelled so...good...and he was so...hungry... Bakura was a thief, he did not ask for things, only took, and so he reached for the plate, realizing that it would be the first thing that he would consume in this body. Bakura might have been drooling, he wasn't sure...

_SMACK!_

Jerking his throbbing hand back reflexively, Bakura looked up into the angry face of Ryou, who was waving a spatula around madly.

Bakura had mentioned he was really, really hungry, hadn't he? He was not in the mood.

Knocking Ryou's spatula to the ground, he dove for the food.

"Those are mine!" Ryou shrieked, grabbing the platter from Bakura's greedy grasp.

Bakura narrowed his eyes at Ryou and... His stomach growled. Menacingly, of course.

"Oh, would you like some food, Bakura?" Ryou said, bending down to retrieve his spatula once he was sure Bakura wasn't going grab the plate again, looking as if he was trying to hide a smile.

_Heh, a 'fake' smile_, thought Bakura resentfully.

"Yes!" huffed Bakura, outstretching his arms to reclaim the dish.

Ryou swatted Bakura hands away again and handed Bakura the spatula, saying "If you want food, fix it yourself...eggs are in the fridge, don't make a mess."

With that, he grabbed his plate, shoved past Bakura, and went to his room, a smirk on his face.

_Fine! _thought Bakura. He was the Thief King; surely, he could manage to make his own breakfast!

A few broken eggs, several burns, a small kitchen fire, and many, many, colorful curses later, Bakura was thinking otherwise.

In fact, he was swearing so badly that Ryou had promptly marched back into the kitchen a half hour later, screaming, "What is going on in here?"

Ryou took one look at Bakura's face (his left eye was twitching, he had a black smudge his nose, and his hair was in complete disarray) and doubled over, laughing. Until this point, Bakura did not know that Ryou could be so cruel.

Bakura Death Glared him...a glare so intense, he usually reserved it just for the Pharaoh, himself.

Finally, after several fits of hysterical chuckling, Ryou straightened up, wiping a few laugh-induced tears from his eyes, and stared at the black blobs residing in the pan on the stove.

"I think I burned the eggs," Bakura explained unnecessarily. "You aren't going to make me eat that, are you?" he asked warily, eyeing the man-made disaster that was his cooking.

Internally, he snorted. As if Ryou could force him.

Ryou laughed again. "I should, but...I won't," he said, as he began to clean up and got some more eggs. "Sit down and I'll cook some more for you."

Bakura went to the kitchen table and sat, watching Ryou work over the stove.

A while later, Ryou threw a plate of eggs in front of him. Instead of retreating to his room, though, Ryou sat down at the table in the chair located opposite Bakura.

Not even paying attention to Ryou's new position, Bakura dug in.

For the first thing had truly eaten in over three thousand years, he found that the food was not disappointing. Ryou was a good cook, as Bakura had discovered.

"So," Ryou asked once Bakura was finished,"did you like it?"

Bakura looked away, smirking. "It wasn't bad."

Ryou grimaced, crossed his arms for a second, and then took Bakura's plate to the sink. "You're welcome..."

Normally, Bakura would have come up with a witty and degrading remark, but he was too busy scheming...err, planning.

The sooner he made Ryou happy, the sooner he could leave. Thus, Bakura's goal for today was to make Ryou as contented as possible. But...how?

How would he make this boy happy? This was quite the problem for Bakura. He, as a thief, had no experience at all in the art of pleasing others, especially not whiny, bratty teenagers. Although, for a teenager, Ryou was not particularly fussy.

A sudden stroke of inspiration hit Bakura.

He grabbed Ryou's arm leading the boy towards the door. "W-what are you doing?" Ryou practically screamed, pushing his arm away roughly.

"We are going for a walk around the city." _Don't hit him, don't hit him, don't hit him..._

Ryou's jaw dropped.

"What? Isn't that what you kids like to do? Why else would spend all day wandering around, talking?"

Ryou was still gaping at him.

Bakura sighed. "So a walk _wouldn't _make you happy? If not, we could just remain here," Bakura said, sounding aggrivated.

Bakura finally responded, coming out of whatever shocked trance he was in. "No, no, let me just...get dressed first."

He began to walk into his room, only to turn back towards Bakura, looking him up and down. "you might want to change, too, Bakura," he said, hesitantly grabbing the Thief King's arm and trying to lead him towards the room.

But Bakura backed away from Ryou's outstretched fingers, almost falling over in the process. "Who said you could touch me?" he snapped.

"Well, you've touched me plenty of times!" Ryou screamed back.

That was...a valid point. Why had he grabbed Ryou, again?

...He didn't know. The answer was completely lost to him.

This bothered the Thief King deeply.

Ryou was glaring at him...looking very _unhappy._

"It won't happen again," was Bakura's quickly thought up retort.

Why did Ryou seem even more unhappy at that reply?

"Well, follow me and we'll get you out of that ridiculous outfit. You look like a cosplayer."

_What is he talking about? _Thought Bakura, looking down at his clothing.

Oh. He was clad in a red robe that was remarkably similar to the once he had worn in Egypt, all those years ago.

This was not a 'ridiculous outfit!' He had stolen these fine fabrics from...well; maybe he could see Ryou's point, perhaps. It _was _somewhat flashy.

Huh, he had never foreseen Ryou being the voice of reason.

Walking behind Ryou, he entered the bedroom.

It was rather small, with a few pieces of mixed-matched furniture, a television still on, and a laptop charging in a darkened corner.

Ryou opened a drawer, pulling out and old t-shirt and jeans and tossing them to Bakura.

He caught them with ease. "Where can I change?"

"The bathroom is the next door down the hall."

After both Ryou and Bakura were dressed (although the T-shirt Ryou had provided was quite tight, the Thief King's body was a bit larger than Ryou's slim form), they both stepped out, Ryou locking the door behind him, keys jangling.

Bakura and Ryou had been walking up a sidewalk, unspeaking, for about fifteen minutes now.

In addition, Ryou still didn't look _happy_.

Bakura was about to abandon his failed attempt to please Ryou, to tell him that they should just go back to the apartment, when the noticed a scantily-clad woman stumbling down the street, grinning goofily, and grabbing onto everyone in her path. Her sleazy actions were causing the people in front of her to scatter. If you asked Bakura, she was obviously drugged or, otherwise, mentally limited in some way.

The woman proved her incompetence as she strutted up to Bakura and Ryou in her unsteady manner and came to a stop.

She looked up at Bakura with hazy eyes and drawled out, "Mmm... look at those muscles..." and she reached out to grab him.

"Touch me and you _will_ be bodily injured," Bakura sneered. Ryou simply looked horrified and... a little angry? What was that about?

The woman seemed incapable of hearing Bakura's threat or just didn't care about the potential pain in her future; she proceeded to wrap her arms around Bakura.

What was even more surprising was that he allowed her to stroke his tan skin for a few second before shoving her from him, causing her to titter-totter onto another random, unfortunate male.

Ryou was staring at him in shock. "W-what? Why did you let h-her?" he spluttered out at Bakura.

Bakura checked to see if the woman was gone (she was now across the street, somehow) and unfurled his hand to show Ryou his prize.

Ryou stared at Bakura in blatant disbelief. "You stole her _wallet_?"

Bakura's response was a grin. "Pick-pocketing is one of my specialties. Of course, that was no case to proud of, far too easy..."

Ryou frowned at Bakura, disapproving. "You shouldn't have done that, Bakura."

"Oh, do you want to return it to her?" Bakura questioned sarcastically.

Ryou didn't notice the sarcasm, glancing at the bimbo, who was now conversing animatedly with a street lamp.

Ryou sweat dropped."No, just keep it Bakura," he said, sighing.

Bakura's grin turned into a smirk. The Thief King had triumphed...

"Lunch is on me," he told Ryou, pleased with himself.

Ryou actually giggled. "Fine, but I get to decide what we eat." He grabbed Bakura's hand and led him into a shop.

Bakura didn't even mind this time as Ryou held onto him. It felt sort of...nice.

**YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH**

Bakura was sitting beside Ryou on a park bench, eating ice cream. Yes, ice cream. This was the food that Ryou insisted that the Thief King would try.

Even if Bakura wouldn't admit it, he really liked it, although it was a bit sticky. The delicacy had a nice flavor...chocolate.

Ryou, who had already finished his cone, was staring at Bakura in avid interest. Bakura briefly wondered if it was a fake fascination, but shrugged.

"What?" Bakura sneered.

Ryou smiled. Yes! Bakura was sure it was a real smile, this time. Now all he needed to was to figure out the cause...and he would be free in no time!

"You love it, don't you?" Ryou said, smiling wider.

Bakura's eyes bludged. "W-what?" he stuttered out, his heart pounding furiously. Why was he reacting this way to a simple question? _'You love it, don't you?'_

_...Did he love Ryou's smile?_

Ryou frowned, smile vanishing. "I said, 'you love the ice cream, don't you?"

"Oh! I mean, yes, I suppose so," Bakura blabbered out, the strangest sense of relief overfilling him.

Bakura realized in horror that heat was rising into his cheeks.

Even more terrifying was that Ryou was looking at him in an odd way.

"Uh, are you alright?" called Ryou, waving a hand in front of Bakura's face.

"Yes, I'm fine, Ryou," he said, swallowing hard.

He grabbed Ryou's hand and-ignoring the swoop this caused in his stomach, refusing to meet the boy's puzzled stare, for fear of what might happen if he looked Ryou in the eyes- said "Let's just go back to the apartment."

A flustered and confused Ryou trailed after him.

**YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH YUGIOH **

Once back in Ryou's apartment, Bakura fled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face from the sink faucet.

What had happened back there? Why had he reacted that way?

Bakura sighed. He would just have to put it behind him, forget it. Yes, it was all in the past...

Bakura glued a grimace to his face with the help of the bathroom mirror and went to find Ryou.

Ryou was found in his bedroom, watching television. Upon Bakura's arrival, he patted the spot next to him. "Do you want to watch some with me? We can watch a movie..."

Bakura choked back a groan. The last thing he wanted to do now was to view the idiotic figures in Ryou's television set.

...but if it made Ryou _happy_, the suffering would be worth it...

Bakura nodded. "Only if I pick out the movie."

Ryou smiled. (Aha! Another victory for the Thief King!) "Sure," he said, pointing Bakura to a cabinet full of videos.

Bakura picked one out, examing the cover art, and dropped it immediately. It...had...rainbows...he shivered, half-expecting his hand to burn from the contact. Ryou watched the exchange with amusement clearly portrayed in his expression.

Cautious, he grabbed another one. Oh! This one looked much better, it even had blood running down the title!

Ryou seemed disturbed by Bakura's selection, but didn't comment as he pushed the DVD into the player.

Soon, Ryou was hiding under the covers, pillow covering his delicate, green-shaded expression, and Bakura was cheering as the first victim went down, imagining the actor was the Pharaoh.

When the movie was over and credits rolled down the screen, also covered in blood, Bakura called out to Ryou, who had been unmoving for the last few minutes. "Ryou, it wasn't even that gory...Ryou? Ryou?"

Bakura removed the pillow from Ryou's face and Ryou turned over, snoring.

Bakura was a little tired himself. Yawning, he turned off the T.V. and the lights, stretched out beside Ryou, but making sure there was plenty of space between the two, and drifted asleep.

_**Author's Notes: Wow, that was a long chapter...Anyways, thanks for all the awesome reviews and be sure to R & R again! Oh, yes, and I need one little favor...can anyone tell me the name of the Thief King? On some forums/other fanfics I've read they said the name is "Akefia" but can anyone confirm/deny this? If so, leave it in a review. Thanks! :)**_


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